Official *MLB Season Delayed* Thread

[Kevin Seitzer]

Ah, wow, that does change my hopes. I think Horsnby or someone posted that TV accounted for 2/3 of the revenue, so I thought empty stadiums would be better than no baseball. It is is lower than player salaries, than, yeah, it makes no sense.

But wouldn't teams save money if there were no fans? I guess not enough, but they would, right?

This is why you see talk of canceling the draft (save $300M in bonuses), because teams are trying to figure out how they can find some cuts in the sea of red ink they are currently swimming in for this year.

Teams would save some money if there were no fans because they wouldn't pay gameday employees (ushers, beer vendors, etc.). Although they have already committed to paying them some whether or not there are games. However, they also wouldn't get any revenues from concessions or parking and would have reduced revenues from merchandising and sponsorships, so I believe the net profit, even excluding player salaries and TV money, would still be pretty negative for playing in empty stadiums.

[revo]

Empty stadiums is not happening. Clubs are hemorrhaging cash as it is, they're not going to willingly lose a bunch more money.

Wouldn't they want to recoup at least 67% of their revenue, or do you think it's better they just eliminate the entire season so as not to pay the players at all?

[Ken]

Wouldn't they want to recoup at least 67% of their revenue, or do you think it's better they just eliminate the entire season so as not to pay the players at all?

Where's the 67% coming from

[revo]

Where's the 67% coming from

I believe KS posted before that 33% of an average team's revenue comes from the gate.

EDIT - I think I'm incorrect on that. I believe he mentioned that a third of a team's revenues come from TV deals, not the gate.

[revo]

Honestly, who would go an MLB game with 30,000 other non-vaccinated people this year?

[Ken]

I believe KS posted before that 33% of an average team's revenue comes from the gate.

EDIT - I think I'm incorrect on that. I believe he mentioned that a third of a team's revenues come from TV deals, not the gate.

Right, the issue is that the gate is the primary revenue stream and without it they can't even cover player salaries.

[Sour Masher]

I believe KS posted before that 33% of an average team's revenue comes from the gate.

EDIT - I think I'm incorrect on that. I believe he mentioned that a third of a team's revenues come from TV deals, not the gate.

No, he said the reverse. He said nly 30-35% comes from tv, 55 goes to players, so team lose money by playing in empty stadiums.

[The Feral Slasher]

No, he said the reverse. He said nly 30-35% comes from tv, 55 goes to players, so team lose money by playing in empty stadiums.

Well if there is no gate, then 100% of revenue (or nearly so unless there are other large sources such as sale of Jerseys or something else I am missing) will be from TV. Do players get 55% of that or 55% of the TV plus anticipated gate receipts or 55% of last years revenue ?

[The Feral Slasher]

Well if there is no gate, then 100% of revenue (or nearly so unless there are other large sources such as sale of Jerseys or something else I am missing) will be from TV. Do players get 55% of that or 55% of the TV plus anticipated gate receipts or 55% of last years revenue ?

I think I may have confused myself. Just wasn't sure if the 55% number was based on typical numbers, or if it is part of the CBA or something like that.

[Ken]

They get paid their contracts. It turns out that their contracts sum up to 55% of revenue.

[The Feral Slasher]

They get paid their contracts. It turns out that their contracts sum up to 55% of revenue.

That makes sense.

[Kevin Seitzer]

They get paid their contracts. It turns out that their contracts sum up to 55% of revenue.

The contracts plus benefits (health insurance, pension, etc.). Benefits are about $15M per team.

[Kevin Seitzer]

Honestly, who would go an MLB game with 30,000 other non-vaccinated people this year?

That's the primary reason I'm pessimistic about there being a 2020 season at all. That and the fact that MLB teams would lose a lot of money playing to empty stadiums unless the players agreed to play for something like half of their contracts or less on a per-game basis (so, for example, a quarter of their contracts for an 81-game season).

I don't pretend to fully understand the issues from all sides, but it's going to be hard to come to a solution that works for everyone involved unless/until the coronavirus is significantly reduced as a threat, not just held in abeyance for a few weeks.

I do think everyone is highly motivated for there to be a season if it's possible, but the practical realities for MLB are daunting. It will be easier for the NBA to re-start their season than it will be for MLB to begin theirs.

[Ken]

Honestly, who would go an MLB game with 30,000 other non-vaccinated people this year?

Maybe they'll limit attendance to 1 family per section and just increase prices to match

[The Feral Slasher]

Maybe they'll limit attendance to 1 family per section and just increase prices to match

U dont want to know how much a beer will cost